House fire

The five family members who died in the Nov. 16 fire on East Second Street in Riverhead were trapped in a front bedroom of the third-floor rental apartment, where they had apparently sought refuge from the flames that engulfed the home.

Town officials say a letter of pre-existing use issued in 2009 exempted the Second Street House from state law and regulations requiring a second means of egress from the third-floor apartment. Inconsistencies in town records obtained through the Freedom of Information Law raise questions.

Cigarettes caused the deadly house fire on East Second Street Nov. 16, the Suffolk County Police Department said today.

Riverhead Town served three criminal summonses on the owner of the four-family house on East Second Street just three weeks before the late-night blaze on Nov. 16 destroyed the home and killed a family of five living in the third-floor apartment.

Suffolk County Police Arson Squad detectives are still investigating the cause of the deadly blaze that killed a family of five Nov. 16.

The community continues to mourn five members of a family that perished in a blaze that tore through a home on East Second Street Tuesday night.

The one-day tournament on Sunday, Nov. 21 will raise money to help with funeral arrangements for one of its players, Carlos Peñate Rivera, and four members of his family, who were killed in a fire Tuesday night.

Laura Rivera, who lost her sister, niece and three nephews in the Nov. 16 fire on East Second Street in Riverhead, talks about her sister's courage and love for her family.

Fundraising efforts are underway to help defray costs of funeral expenses for the family that perished in the horrific fire on Second Street in Riverhead Tuesday night. A mother, her 24-year-old son, 16-year-old daughter and two nephews died in the blaze.

The person who died in house fire on St. Mary’s Drive in Jamesport earlier this month has been identified as the longtime resident of the home, a 72-year-old man who lived alone.